Forgotten Item
by thatpersonwhoisthatperson
Summary: In which Tony and Pepper are grocery shopping and Pepper forgets something very important once they're at the register... Post-IM2, fluffy, one-shot.


**NOTE: ...I need a life. Or perhaps it's better this way. :) Especial thanks to my good friend on DeviantART, ~lilis-gallery, who gave me major confidence. Please enjoy.  
**

They were grocery shopping. It seemed almost strange that they would be shopping together, let alone _grocery_ shopping. But the mansion was devoid of all food and Pepper hurried out, too much in a rush to force Tony back inside.

Surprisingly, Tony was being very good. He wasn't out of line as Pepper had feared. Truthfully, Tony wanted her to know that he was mature enough to handle their new found relationship, and if he could prove it by even the smallest things such as complying with her while she shopped, well, so be it.

"I need...milk," Pepper muttered to herself, spinning on her heel toward the freezer section of the store. Tony followed suit, mentally noting just how fast she could walk when she was going after something.

He passed a rack of chocolates and suddenly realized how much he was craving candy, any type of candy at all.

"Hey. Pepper."

She turned around to face him, bending slightly, a heavy jug of milk in her hands. "Yes?"

Seeing her struggle, Tony, the gentleman that he was, took the milk from her. He made room in the cart and placed it there. Pepper smiled as thanks.

"What were you saying?" she asked him.

Tony thought about asking to go to the candy aisle and pick up many, many things, but knowing how much Pepper would disapprove and how she would lecture him on the importance of good health made him decide against it.

"Never mind. Can I get anything else?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, you could grab...mmm, how about some salmon? I was thinking about making this dill dip to glaze over top of it -"

He tuned her out there. "Why don't we just go out? I could -"

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"Tony, we've been out three times this week."

"So?" he whined, looking over her shoulder at the fillets of raw fish and cringed inwardly. "We'll make it four."

"Four is much too excessive, Tony – yes, thank you." Pepper smiled at the man behind the counter and began a brisk walk towards the front of the store where the checkout counters were located.

"But -"

"You don't like my cooking, is that it?" Pepper asked, a smile tugging at the sides of her mouth despite the circumstances.

"No! No, that's not it at all, I'm just...not a fish person, that's all," defended Tony.

Pepper laughed as she loaded the items on to the counter. "I know." She paused abruptly, her hands freezing in front of her as she seemed to be recalling something.

Tony's smirk fell, and he turned towards her. "What?"

"I...think I forgot something," Pepper said slowly.

"Yeah? Want me to run and get it?"

Silence.

"Ummm..." Pepper's face started to turn red.

Upon seeing this, Tony began to grow intrigued. "What's it that you need, darling?" he asked with mock innocence, raising his eyebrows.

"Nothing," Pepper said quickly...too quickly. "Just, never mind. I've got to get home anyway."

"No, no, no," Tony said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You brought it up – now you've got to tell me."

Pepper bit her lip and looked pointedly at the items rolling along the counter. _Well, this is awkward. Great work, Potts,_ she thought to herself.

She pulled him closer. There was nothing to do but bite the bullet, it seemed... "I'm in need of my..._feminine products_," she all but hissed into his ear.

A huge grin spread across Tony's face. "Pepper -"

"Don't. Say. A word." she snapped, her face still red. "Just...could you...retrieve them quick?"

He blanched, but the smirk was back almost instantaneously. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that. Am I allowed to ask which brand you use?" His eyes kept wandering south, much to Pepper's annoyance, and finally she slapped his hand away.

"It's not...your time of the month, is it?" he asked directly after. Pepper shook her head and he could hear her through a hand over her face mumbling 'no' over and over again.

"Just – just – ugh, here -" she stumbled over her words, fumbling in her purse for a pen and a small piece of paper, where she proceeded to scribble the brand name of the things.

Pepper thrust the paper at him and continued loading the groceries. Tony took it from her, laughing.

"I'll be back," he said, patting her on the back then departing back through the store.

Tony snickered all the way down the aisle until he found the shelf. Squinting at the chicken scratch on the paper that Pepper called her handwriting, he began to scan the shelf for the correct brand. He laughed again at the thought of Pepper's red face.

He ceased laughing when a woman a few feet away glanced over at him scornfully.

Coughing and stuffing the paper into his jeans pocket, Tony swiftly grabbed the package and walked away to the self-checkout counter.

When he finished paying, he spotted Pepper standing by the door, tapping her foot. Her face turned red again once he came into her line of vision. He smirked, handing the bag out towards her.

"Thank you," Pepper mumbled as she snatched the bag from him.

"Oh, come on," he laughed, grabbing her hands once they were outside the automatic doors by the bench with the soda machine. "Don't tell me no other husbands ever do that for their wives -"

"Husband?" Pepper pulled back, a quizzical expression plastered on her face.

"Okay, so maybe we're not quite there...yet," Tony told her, looking down and smiling. "But okay then...well, I certainly didn't mind it."

"Mmmmm, I'm aware."

"No, I'm serious – I want to do things for you like that. It makes me feel like we're...even closer than we already are. Even more...together. You know?"

Pepper beamed at him. "I know. Me, too."

FIN

**YES! I finallyyy wrote SOMETHING after...what, six months? I've been in such a writer's block, you have no idea! I sincerely hope you enjoyed...thanks for reading!**

**I still have a number of prompts from other kind people that I need to complete, so expect some more one-shots coming your way! :)**

**Please review! I hate to ask, but reviews keep me going, and give me confidence. :) **


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